''Money Movers'' is a 1978 Australian

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. Beresford's notable films he has directed include ''Br ...

. The film was based on the 1972 book ''The Money Movers'' by Devon Minchin, founder of Metropolitan Security Services. The story deals loosely with two real-life events, the 1970 Sydney Armoured Car Robbery where A$500,000 was stolen from a Mayne Nickless armoured van, and a 1970 incident when A$280,000 was stolen from Metropolitan Security Services' offices by bandits impersonating policemen. ''Money Movers'' is "one of the few films of the 1970s that deal with crime and police corruption as an entrenched state of being, and one of the earliest to embrace extremely violent action."

Plot

An armoured payroll truck owned by Darcy's Security Services is robbed and the driver, ex-policeman Dick Martin, is removed from armoured cars and put onto night patrols. The robbers are double-crossed by crime boss Jack Henderson, whose henchman Dino kills all the robbers. Lionel Darcy, head of the company, suspects a major robbery is being planned but is unaware that all the culprits are employed by the company. He asks former employee Mindel Seagers to look into newcomer to the firm, Leo Bassett. Jack Henderson discovers that a robbery is being planned by Eric Jackson, a former

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

driver and a Senior Supervisor with Darcy's, his brother Brian Jackson who also works as a guard for Darcy's as an armoured truck driver, and Ed Gallagher, the supervisor of Darcy's counting house. When Eric Jackson breaks into Bassett's apartment, Henderson's men kidnap him and cut off the little toe on his left foot with a pair of bolt cutters in their attempt to force him to work for him. Dick Martin and Leo Bassett foil the planned robbery after which Martin is taken to hospital suffering gunshot wounds while Bassett reveals to Lionel Darcy (who was found out through Seagers to be working undercover as a guard on behalf of Darcy's insurance company Legal & United) that it was he who has sent a threatening note warning that robbery of Darcy's money counting house was to be the ruse used to flush out any real robbers.

Cast

* Terence Donovan as Eric Jackson *

Tony Bonner Anthony Frederick Bonner (born 23 November 1943) is an Australian television, film and stage actor and singer. Bonner became famous in the 1960s children's television series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'', later moving on to lead roles in the ...

as Leo Bassett *

Ed Devereaux Edward Sidney Devereaux (27 August 192517 December 2003), better known professionally as Ed Devereaux, was an Australian actor, director, and scriptwriter who lived in the United Kingdom for many years. He was best known for playing the part of ...

as Dick Martin *

Charles 'Bud' Tingwell Charles William Tingwell AM (3 January 1923 – 15 May 2009), known professionally as Bud Tingwell or Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, was an Australian film, television, theatre and radio actor. One of the veterans of Australian film, he acted in his ...

as Jack Henderson *

Candy Raymond Candida Raymond (born 1950) is an Australian actress of film and television during the 1970s and early 1980s. She attended St Ives High School in Sydney. Professional career As a teenager she played small guest roles in Australian televisio ...

as Mindel Seagers *

Jeanie Drynan Jeanie Drynan is an Australians, Australian film and television actress well known for her roles in the television series ''Class of '74'' and in the 1994 film ''Muriel's Wedding''. She may be best known to international viewers for her role a ...

as Dawn Jackson *

Bryan Brown Bryan Neathway Brown AM (born 23 June 1947) is an Australian actor. He has performed in over eighty film and television projects since the late 1970s, both in his native Australia and abroad. Notable films include ''Breaker Morant'' (1980), ' ...

as Brian Jackson *

Alan Cassell Alan Louis Cassell (16 February 1932 – 30 August 2017) was an English Australian actor, on stage, film and television. Personal life Alan Cassell was born in Manchester, England but grew up in Birmingham. Cassell was of a young age when his m ...

as Detective-Sergeant Sammy Rose *

Gary Files Gary Files is an Australians, Australian-Canadians, Canadian actor, theatre director and radio writer who has worked in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Resident in Australia since 1976, Files is noted for the accentual versatility of ...

as Ernest Sainsbury *Ray Marshall as Ed Gallagher *Hu Pryce as David Griffiths *

Lucky Grills Leo Dennis Grills OAM (26 May 1928 – 27 July 2007) professionally billed as Lucky Grills, was an Australian actor and comedian. His best known acting role was in the crime drama TV series '' Bluey'' playing the title role. Grills took his p ...

as Robert Conway * Frank Wilson as Lionel Darcy *

Terry Camilleri Terrance Camilleri (born 7 November 1949) is a Maltese-born Australian actor who has performed actively in both the United Kingdom and United States. He is best recognized for portraying Emperor Napoleon I in the blockbuster comedy film ''Bill ...

as Dino *

Stuart Littlemore Stuart Littlemore KC is an Australian barrister and former journalist and television presenter. He created ABC Television's long-running '' Media Watch'' program, which he hosted from its inception in 1989 to 1997. Early career Littlemore wa ...

as Himself (television reporter)

Production

After making ''

The Getting of Wisdom ''The Getting of Wisdom'' is a novel by Australian novelist Henry Handel Richardson. It was first published in 1910, and has almost always been in print ever since. Plot introduction Henry Handel Richardson was the pseudonym of Ethel Florence ...

'' Bruce Beresford signed a contract with the

South Australian Film Corporation South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) is a South Australian Government statutory corporation established in 1972 to engage in film production and promote the film industry, located in Adelaide, South Australia. The Adelaide Studios are managed ...

(SAFC) to make two films in two years. He wanted to make a movie that was in complete contrast with his last movie, and had written a script called ''The Ferryman''. However the SAFC did not want to make it and they offered him a number of other projects instead.Interview with Bruce Beresford, 15 May 1999
accessed 17 October 2012 Beresford decided to adapt a novel by Devon Minchin, who founded Metropolitan Security Services in 1954. Beresford worked with MSS for two months doing research.David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p53 Shooting took six weeks in February and March 1978. Although the film was based in Sydney, it was shot mostly in the studios of the SAFC and at various locations in Adelaide, notably the

Rowley Park Speedway Rowley Park Speedway is a former dirt track racing venue that was located on Torrens Road in Brompton, South Australia and supplanted the Kilburn speedway (1946–1951) on Churchill Road, and the earlier Camden motordrome (1935–1941 ...

, with some scenes also filmed in Sydney. This is seen with vehicles regularly jumping between South Australia's black on a white background licence plates and the NSW version of black on yellow. Although fake money was used in the film, where there was calls for large amounts of cash, (approximately A$1 million was used) real armed guards from Metropolitan Security Services (MSS) were on hand.

Release

The film, when it was released in 1979, failed badly at the box office, taking $330,000 which was some $206,861 less than the film's budget. Beresford:

Nobody went to see it. I went on the opening night in Melbourne and there were three people there and me. I was sitting up the back wondering what time the session started and then the film came on. I thought, 'this is going to be a disaster'. And it was.

''20/20 Filmsight'' said the film is "often let down by stagy performances, uneven editing and a poor script", but is "worth checking out." ''Movie News'' said ''Money Movers'' "delivers an intriguing plot and hair-raising suspense with incredible pace and ferocity." ''Australian Screen'' said that "''Money Movers'' was ahead of its time, and may have suffered because of that. The film opened early in 1979, and failed badly, but it was not alone – 1979 was the worst year for Australian films, in box-office terms, since the new wave of Australian cinema had begun." The movie has since gained something of a cult following among speedway fans in Australia largely thanks to the footage of the much-loved Rowley Park which closed just 13 months after filming was completed.

Accolades

Box office

''Money Movers'' grossed $330,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $1,290,300 in 2009 dollars.

Home media

''Money Movers'' was released for the first time on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in March 2018.

References

External links

*
''Money Movers''
at Oz Movies {{Bruce Beresford
Money Movers Game
o
Kizi
1978 films 1970s crime drama films Australian crime drama films Australian heist films Films shot in Adelaide Films set in Sydney Films directed by Bruce Beresford 1970s heist films 1978 drama films 1970s English-language films